The Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance (German: ''Institut für Arbeitsschutz der Deutschen Gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung'', ''IFA'') is a German institute located in
Sankt Augustin
Sankt Augustin ( Ripuarian: ''Sank Aujustin'') is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is named after the patron saint of the Divine Word Missionaries, Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). The Missionaries e ...
near
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
and is a main department of the German Social Accident Insurance. Belonging to the
Statutory Accident Insurance means that IFA is a non-profit institution.
Tasks
The IFA supports the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
institutions for social accident insurance and their organisations in solving scientific and technical problems relating to
occupational safety and health
Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wo ...
. The missions of IFA contain the following objectives:
*
research
Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
, development and investigations
* testing of products and material samples
* workplace measurements and advice
* participation in
standardisation and regulation setting bodies
* technical information and expertise
* testing and certification of products and
quality management system
A quality management system (QMS) is a collection of business processes focused on consistently meeting customer requirements and enhancing their satisfaction. It is aligned with an organization's purpose and strategic direction (ISO 9001:2015). I ...
s for producers and companies. The certified products and manufacturers can be found in the certificate database
The IFA provides international proficiency testing (PT) schemes for
laboratories
A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physi ...
and measuring stations.
The IFA works closely with 23 international OSH institutes and is member of
PEROSH, a European research federation.
The director of the IFA is member of the Zero Accident Forum.
Fields of activity of the IFA
* Chemical/biological hazards (
dust
Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ...
s,
gases,
vapours)
** Analysis of metals and selected inorganic pollutants
** Analysis of organic and inorganic
pollutant
A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like o ...
s (
Liquid chromatography
In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the ''mobile phase'', which carries it through a system (a ...
)
** Analysis of organic pollutants (
Gas chromatography
Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substanc ...
)
** Biological agents
** Dust -
Fibres
Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
** Emission of
hazardous substances
** Exposure assessment
** Exposure database (MEGA)
** Measuring system exposure assessment of the German Social Accident Insurance Institutions (MGU)
**
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, ...
(PPE) against chemical/biological hazards
** Protective measures
** Substance- and product-related data (GESTIS, e.g.
GESTIS Substance Database, ISi,
GESTIS-Stoffenmanager)
** Techniques for measurement of vapours and gases
** Techniques for
particle
In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass.
They vary greatly in size or quantity, from ...
measurement
**
Toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating e ...
of industrial chemicals
** Dust
explosion
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...
s
* Physical hazards
** Database on physical exposure
** Hand-arm
vibration
Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. The word comes from Latin ''vibrationem'' ("shaking, brandishing"). The oscillations may be periodic, such as the motion of a pendulum—or random, su ...
** Hot/cold
surface
A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...
s
**
Noise measurement In acoustics, noise measurement can be for the purpose of measuring environmental noise or measuring noise in the workplace. Applications include monitoring of construction sites, aircraft noise, road traffic noise, entertainment venues and nei ...
**
Noise protection
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
/
Hearing protection
**
PPE against physical hazards
**
Radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
** Whole body vibration
*
Ergonomics
Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...
** Ergonomic methods and processes for recording and evaluating work-induced load on the
musculo-skeletal system
** Conducting measurements using the CUELA system. CUELA is a personal measurement system employing modern sensor technology to be worn on the work clothing. The associated software interprets the measured data automatically in accordance with ergonomic criteria and helps to implement prevention measures.
** Ergonomic design of
human-machine interfaces
** Planning and setting up exposure databases on physical loads
** Ergonomic aspects of
head-mounted display
A head-mounted display (HMD) is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet (see Helmet-mounted display for aviation applications), that has a small display optic in front of one ( monocular HMD) or each eye ( binocular HMD). An ...
s and
smart glasses
** Risk assessment of
exoskeleton
An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton ( endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...
s
** Studies into the promotion of physical activity by means of dynamic office workplaces
*
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evi ...
* Accident prevention/Product safety
** Fluid power
**
Material science and tools
** Protective devices and control systems
** Safety of
machine
A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecul ...
s and installations
** Structural engineering/Constructional elements
**
Transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
and
traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
** Collaborative robots (
COBOTS)
**
Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), edu ...
in human-system interaction
** Industrial security
** Trustworthy
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...
* Interdisciplinary services
** Basic and further training
** Co-operations
**
Information management
Information management (IM) concerns a cycle of organizational activity: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it, and its ultimate disposal throug ...
**
Information technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology syste ...
** Media contact
**
Risk assessment
Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of:
# identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis); and
# making judgments "on the ...
Publications
Publications referring the work results of IFA can be found in a database.
The IFA is editor of Databases on hazardous substances (GESTIS): GESTIS Substance Database offers information to about 8,800 substances and is free of charge. A mobile version suitable for smartphones and tablets is also available. The GESTIS Biological Agents Database contains information for safe handling of biological agents at the workplace. GESTIS-Stoffenmanager® is an online tool for risk assessment during activities with hazardous substances. GESTIS-DUST-EX is a database on combustion and explosion characteristics of dusts. GESTIS also offers a database with a collection of international
occupational limit values for hazardous substances, additionally available as a
mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
.
IFA’s exposure database MEGA provides data on hazardous chemicals gathered through atmospheric measurements and material analyses since 1972. It is determined to support the institutions for statutory accident insurance and prevention with epidemiological issues or retrospective considerations related to occupational diseases.
History
The precursor institute of the IFA – dedicated to
dust abatement - was founded in 1935 and reestablished in 1953. In 1976 the institute for noise abatement in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
was included. In 1980 the institute – then named BIA – moved to Sankt Augustin near Bonn. In 2003 the name changed to BGIA and in 2007 the institute obtained its present-day name on occasion of the fusion of the German social accident insurance institutions in the commercial and the public sector. Since the beginning of 2010 the abbreviated designation is IFA.
German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV): BGIA is now IFA
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External links
IFA website
IFA/IAG-Database publications
IFA-Manual
IFA-Arbeitsmappe
References
{{Authority control
Occupational safety and health organizations
Medical and health organisations based in North Rhine-Westphalia
Organisations based in Bonn